It’s that time of year when a little more time browsing the bookshop feels entirely justified. The evenings draw in, the kitchen becomes ever more inviting, and I begin my annual search for a baking book to treasure.

I’m looking for the book that feeds the soul as much as it inspires the next bake. The one with a small nugget of wisdom that makes something click, a recipe that sends you straight to the flour cupboard, or a reassuring passage that says, “Keep going. You’re on the right track.”

Over the years, we have gathered quite a collection in the Lovingly Artisan library. These books have travelled alongside us through our baking lives, offering inspiration, answering questions and reminding us that there is always something more to learn.  For home bakers, that companionship can be especially welcome. When you’re standing beside a dough that seems to have a mind of its own, a good baking book can feel like a patient teacher at your kitchen table.

There are a few we return to again and again.

Tartine Bread by Chad Robertson is one of our bread bibles. It is a book to spend time with, returning to its pages as your experience grows. Don’t feel you have to absorb everything at once. Sometimes, one useful observation is all you need to take into your next bake.

Vanessa Kimbell’s books are treasured essentials in our collection, and ones we warmly encourage budding bakers to explore. There is such pleasure in finding a baking voice that speaks to you: someone whose explanations help you feel a little more confident and a little more curious. Give yourself permission to learn gradually; you don’t need to know everything before you begin.

Crumb by Richard Bertinet is a favourite when we need a nudge in the right direction. It’s the sort of book to dip into when your baking needs fresh energy, or when you fancy stepping beyond your familiar loaf. We all need that invitation occasionally: sleeves up, flour out, let’s have a go.

Artisan Sourdough by Casper André Lugg and Martin Ivar Hveem Fjeld celebrates grain, a subject close to our hearts. Its interest in local, heritage and ancient grains encourages us to think more closely about the flour we bake with. For the home baker, that curiosity opens a wonderful door: discovering how different grains bring their own flavour and character to a loaf.

Every book has its role to play. Some teach, some challenge, and others offer precisely the reassurance we need on a day when the bread hasn’t quite gone to plan. I will never say we have too many. They are old, treasured friends, ready to sit alongside us whenever we are searching for an answer or a spark of inspiration. If you’re choosing a baking book this autumn, find one that makes you want to bake. Start with a recipe that catches your eye, read it through, and give yourself time to enjoy the process. Make a few notes in the margin: what you noticed, what you loved, what you might try differently next time.

Your loaf doesn’t have to look exactly like the photograph to be something worth sharing. There is joy in making bread with your own hands, learning as you go and placing it at the centre of your table.

Put the kettle on, open a good book and see where the next page takes you.